Separator.



m0 79mm. l Mmmm AUG..15 190m A., P., Hummm.,

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APPLCATION 'ILHD IFBB. 30. 1905.

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lepeeiiication of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 15, 1905.

Application filed February 20, 1905. Serial No. 246,364.

To /tZZ 1U/"amm it Hefty con/cern:

13e it known that l, Acum-nin FRANK l-lor- Fneknn, a citizen ot the United States, residing at Elizabeth, in the county of Union and State of New Jersey, have invented an lm provement in Separatore, ol which the lollowing is a speciiication.

Myinvention relates to separators in which oil is removed from the water of condensation, and particularly to that type ot' this class of devices which is a component part o1 the power-generating apparatus ol. motor-vehicles in which steam is used as a motive power. Stealn-power-generating systems for motorvehicles, and particularly those employing that type ot' generator known as the flash or semiilash generator, generally include, together with the generator and engine or prime mover which is directly connected to the drive-wheels of the vehicle, a feed-pump and a condenser-pump, both of which are directly connected to the engine, a condenser, a tank, a separator in which the oil in" the water ol condensation from the condenser is to be separated betere the same is led to the tank, and suitable connections 'from the tank to the generator by way ot' the Yfeed-pump, from the generator to the engine, Vfrom the engine to the condenser, from the condenser to the separator by way of the condenser-pump, and from the separator back to the tank.

As commonly employed no provision whatsoever is made for regulating or controlling the pressure within the separator, and in practice l have found that under certain conditions this results in the non-performance by the separator o1 its specilic function. Under ordinary working conditions when the engine is supplying power the condensed eX- haust is properly taken care oli by the condenser-pump and fed to the separator, where under these conditions the water ol condensation is passed through a sieve or other device to the supply-tank, being thus freed from the lubricating-oil that it may have taken up while passing in the lorm of steam through the engine-cylinders. lt', however, the engine is running idle, which from the directconnected construction must be the case, for instance, when the machine is coasting and the pumps are also running due to their direct-constructed construction, the condenserpump after havingl depleted the condenser oi the water ot' condensation continues to operatc and to create a considerable air-pressure in the separator sufficient, it the idle running ot' the engine is continued long enough, to force the water with the oil remaining in the separator from the same to the tank, which causes all the troubles and ineiliciencies in steam practice resulting from the mixture ol oil with the feed-supply.

The object of my invention is to overcome the hereinbe't'ore-described diiiiculty, and in. carrying out the same l. employ a separator provided with means lor automatically preventing' the liquid within said separator from dropping below a predetermined level, which means may be embodied in a relief-valve and suitable lloat by which the saine is operated or otherwise, as may be found most expedient.

In the drawings, Figure 1 isa d iagramrnatic plan oi a steam-generating apparatus for motor-vehicles, and Fig. 2 is a central longituninal sectional elevation otl a separator embodying` the improvements comprising my invention.

c represents the engine, connected to the generator by a steam-pipe 9.

c is the supply-tank, connected to the suction end ot' the feed-pump (Z by a pipe 3, and the discharge end oi the feed-pump is connected to the generator by a pipe f1.

e is the condenser, connected to the engineexhaust by a pipe 5, and f is the condenserpump, connected to the condenser by a pipe 6 and to the separator r/ by a pipe 7, while the separator is connected to the tank c by a pipe 8.

Referring particularly to Fig. 2, the separator preferably comprises a casing or body portion 9, cylindrical or otherwise, as maybe desired, and provided at its upper end with a cap 10, in which is a transverse opening 11.

The opening' 11 is screw-threaded, and lf prefer to employ a short section oi gas or other pipe 1Q, a portion of whose surface is also screw-threaded and adapted to be received in the opening 11 with a portion of the pipe 12 extending above the cap 1() and the lower end of the pipe extending slightly below the cap 10. Fitting closely within the pipe 12 and movable therein there is a rod 13, provided at its upper end with a pin 1li. On the lower end of the rod 13 a l'loat 15 is adjustably mounted, and above the `l'loat 15 there is a washer or valve 16, adapted when the itloat is raised to contact with the lower end of the pipe 12, and in the bottom of the separator there may be a suitable screen or sieve 17 conical or other shaped.

1t will now be apparent that the tloat 15 may be set on the rod or stem 13, so that the valve 16 will be unseated at any liquid-level in the separator that is desire l, thereby admitting the air and reducing the pressure which caused the height of the liquid to drop below the predetermined level.

In practice I have found that when the oil has accumulated to an extent suiicient to make it necessary to draw thc same oli' the separator should be cleaned out, to accomplish which the cap l0 and parts associated therewith may be readily removed to gain access to the interior of the separator for this purpose.

I claim as my inventionl. A separator for motor-vehicle steam-generating systems comprising' a casing having an inlet thereto and an outlet therefrom, and means for maintaining' the liquid-level within the separator at a predetermined heig'ht.

2. A separator for motor-vehicle steam-generating systems comprising' a casing having an inlet thereto and an outlet therefrom, a screen in the bottom of said body, a cup litting within said body and means for maintaining the liquid within the separator at a predetermined level.

3. A separator for motor-vehicle steam-generating systems comprising a casing having' an inlet thereto and an outlet therefrom, a cap, a valve-seat, a valve-stem, a valve, and means controlled by the liquid-level in said body for loweringV and raising said valve.

A. A separator for motor-vehicle steam-generating systems comprising a casing having an inlet thereto and outlet therefrom, a cap, a pipe passing' through the same, a valveseat at the lower end of said pipe, a valvestem, a valve in the same, and a float regulatably secured to said valve-stem for lowering and raising said valve with variations of the liquid-level in said body.

Signed by me this 16th day ot' February,

A. FRANK HOFFEGKER. lVitnesses:

Guo. T. PINCKNEY, Bmrrrnx M. ALLEN. 

